Radio Talent Scrambles in New Round of Musical Jobs

In a human sense, radio is a crummy business.

In a manner similar to professional sports, careers and livelihoods dangle at the mercy of the latest win (ratings) and the whims of often petulant general managers. Job security is a myth.

The recent chain of events at KRMX-FM (94.9) is fairly typical. Early in the year, a new general manager took over the station and proceeded to do his best Attila the Hun impersonation. Within a few months, almost every station employee had either quit or been fired.

Now, a similar scenario appears to be playing out at oldies station KCBQ, where in the past few weeks almost every top manager has left or been fired.

In June, 1989, Phoenix-based Adams Communications bought the AM (1170) and FM (105.3) combo. Soon after, KCBQ employees began grumbling that Adams executives were trying to run the station from Phoenix.

Earlier this year, Adams vice president Jim Seemiller led a successful coup, deposing Adams president Matt Mills, and took over the reins of the company. He moved the corporate headquarters to KCBQ.

A few weeks ago, the purge started. General Manager Dan Carelli left, landing across town as the general manager of KYXY-FM (96.5). Seemiller assumed the role of general manager, and heads began to roll.

The promotions director, business director, two engineers, and Bill Moffitt, who had been on the air at the station for 13 years, were among the employees suddenly looking for work.

Just an “internal realignment,” Seemiller said. There will be no other changes he told the staff, unless people want to “fire themselves.”

Meanwhile, at KYXY, Carelli was starting his own “realignment.” In the last two weeks, promotions director Paula Yancy, national sales manager Terri Woods and general sales manager Mark DeBoskey found themselves looking for work.

Carelli has replaced them with three people from his former station--KCBQ. Besides promotions director Jean Meade, Carelli has hired sales executives Linda DiLorenzo and Jim Higgins, who both apparently decided to fire themselves from KCBQ.

Carelli and Seemiller were attending the National Assn. of Broadcasters convention and were unavailable for comment, but, by all accounts, the turmoil is expected to continue.

Sonny West, undoubtedly one of the nicest guys in local radio, has survived ownership and format changes at KCBQ for 11 years, but it is doubtful he will survive this one. Seemiller has taken away his program director title, and West has been off the air for most of the last two weeks.

Although there has been no official word, sources confirm that KCBQ has already hired former Y95 disc jockey Jeff McNeal to replace West on the morning show. There are rumors, unconfirmed, that West may end up at KYXY.

Musical jobs. But unlike in sports, the average station employees are not highly paid athletes or big media stars. For them, it’s just life in radio.

KFMB-TV (Channel 8) has rejected controversial political ads in the past, righteously invoking a station policy that prevents the station from runnings ads not directly related to ballot issues. But that policy hasn’t prevented the station from running an ad, prepared by the National Assn. of Broadcasters, urging Congress to pass a bill regulating the cable industry.

It sure looks hypocritical, and station manager Robert Myers didn’t return calls to explain the station’s position.

KGTV (Channel 10), which says its only policy on political ads is to review them on a “case-by-case basis,” has decided to run the spot, but KNSD-TV (Channel 39) management has decided against it.

Channel 39 general manager Neil Derrough, noting that cable systems run ads lobbying against taxes on cable, doesn’t feel it is appropriate for cable television and broadcasters to use their media to lobby viewers and attack each other.

“I don’t think anybody wins, and I think the consumer is put off by it,” Derrough said.

The new television season is upon us, and the local stations have not exactly moved to higher ground.

Channel 8, with its finger on the pulse of San Diego, has picked up the new “Chuck Woolery Show,” which it will air weekdays at 3 p.m.

Meanwhile, KUSI-TV (Channel 51) is embracing Geraldo Rivera in the same manner little kids hug teddy bears, showing “Geraldo” not once but twice each weekday, at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Thanks to “Geraldo,” San Diegans will be presented with such insightful and meaningful TV as last week’s interview with the late Sammy Davis Jr.’s mistress.

As if that wasn’t enough, Channel 51, San Diego’s Geraldo Network, is also presenting the tacky and exploitative, “Now It Can Be Told,” at 11 p.m. weeknights, in which Geraldo digs up old tabloid stories.

Across the dial, XETV (Channel 6) apparently wants to be identified as the official station of “Married . . . With Children,” airing reruns of the ode to toilet jokes twice every weeknight--at 7 and 10 p.m., beginning today.

At Channel 39, staffers of the “Ross-Hedgecock Report” were rehearsing the new hourlong format last week. Although nothing was definite as late as Friday, the longer version may debut as early as this afternoon at 4 p.m. Gina Karides, who has been producing the station’s 5 p.m. news program, has moved over to produce the longer program. . . .

Of 2,432 journalists asked to name the animal that best reminds them of public relations professionals, 71% answered “weasel” in a recent survey conducted by Jericho Promotions, a New York-based public relations firm. Eleven percent said they were most like foxes, 2% said dogs and 1% said worms. . . .

Channel 8 is experimenting with using remote control devices to guide in-studio cameras. . . .

In the world of radio promotions, Elizabeth Wold has been promoted from assistant promotions manager to promotion manager at KFMB-AM (760), and Jennifer Eve, most recently of KNBR in San Francisco, is the new promotions director of KFMB-FM (B100). And Howard Freshman, late of KMARS in L.A., is the new promotions director of KKLQ (Q106).